SIGNALLING & TELECOMS
Taking control: grand opening of Manchester ROC
RTM was at the launch of the new Manchester Rail Operating Centre, and heard from key Network Rail staff involved in the successful project, including scheme sponsor Andy Scott, Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese, acting route managing director Jim Syddall, and head of National Operating Strategy at Network Rail, Simon Whitehorn.
F
lexibility is the name of the game at Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC,
as in ‘solid as a…’ – which, judging by the security measures in place, this particular building certainly is).
The building has been designed to be as future-proof as possible, with its designers and constructors fully accepting that technology changes fast. Signalling and control of Britain’s railways are being centralised into the 12 ROCs during a 15- to 20-year transition programme.
It is not possible to forecast every technology and operational change over a timeline that long. So, the ROC has been built with as much fl exibility as possible, with modular solutions instead of hard-wiring where possible, more space available than current plans actually call for, and infrastructure that specifi cally allows for the introduction of traffi c management technology.
RTM attended the offi cial launch of the building on 21 July, not long after staff started to move in to the ROC, which is next to Ashburys station in east Manchester.
Transition
The line between Huyton and Roby, near Liverpool, is the fi rst section of railway being controlled from the Manchester ROC following the recent resignalling and upgrade work. What
74 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 14
Sir Richard Leese (standing, far right), leader of Manchester City Council, hearing from signallers Jimmy Chadderton (seated, left) and Paul McVeigh (seated, right).
will follow is everything between Liverpool and Crewe, everything in the Manchester area in 2015, and then the routes to Sheffi eld.
The next sections of railway to be controlled from the ROC will be parts of central and north Manchester in 2015. Ultimately, the ROC will control the whole railway within the area bordered by Carlisle, Todmorden, Crewe and the Welsh border.
Staff are moving from a number of other facilities, including signalling centres and signal boxes (800 of which are closing across the country as part of the long-term ROC
integration plans) and Square One near Manchester Piccadilly. Control transfers from there in December.
After an 18-month build by Morgan Sindall, the management team occupied the building from March, and during July offi ce staff from Square One started transferring over. The fi rst signaller’s workstation opened on 14 July.
There will be up to 400 staff based at the ROC, operating the railway 24 hours a day, including staff from the region’s operators – currently Northern and First TransPennine Express (FTPE). On the launch day, there were more
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